When you get to build a PC, you have the freedom to choose each and every component that goes into it. My favorite, among all of those, is the motherboard. It’s where every other component connects to, so, it’s like the Spinal cord of your computer. Also, the motherboard is responsible for powering, communicating, and commanding all of them. Therefore, choosing the right one is the key to build your PC right. However, there are literally 100s of motherboards out in the wild. And choosing one is not an easy task.
Asus, the brand you know so well, is kind of a big player in the motherboard market. They also manufacture all types of chipsets from Intel’s latest Z390 to AMD’s latest X570. In addition, their product range in the international market is undoubtedly huge. But that doesn’t end there, Nagmani International, the authorized distributor of all Asus components in Nepal has made a wide selection of motherboards available in the country as well.
You can check out their catalog of products here, alongside their laptop price in Nepal here, and the prices of their motherboards below. We have listed them into two categories, one for Intel and other for AMD.
If we remember correctly, Lenovo launched the Z6 pro back in April. After that, we also saw the Z6 Youth. And now, the company has come up with another one in the same list, the Lenovo Z6.
Okay, the first thing that caught my attention is the use of Snapdragon 730 processor which is also there on the Redmi K20. Additionally, the phone is offered in three memory variants, 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB, and 8GB/128GB. The phone also comes with a microSD card slot which lets you expand the storage up to 512 GB.
As for the display, it has a 6.30″ OLED screen with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Interestingly, the display here has a 120 Hz refresh rate and also supports HDR10 and DCI-P3 wide color gamut. The display is also home for an in-display fingerprint sensor.
The camera setup at the back consists of a triple camera set up at the back, a 24 MP primary lens, an 8MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom & 8x Hybrid zoom and a 5 MP depth sensor. The selfie camera resides at the notch which is a 16 MP shooter.
As far as the battery goes. it has a 4,000 mAh battery inside to support which, you get an 18-watt Fast charger inside the box. You also get a Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.0.
The Lenovo Z6 comes with Android 9 Pie out of the box with its own ZUI 11 custom skin on top.
Lenovo Z6 Specifications:
Design: Roll cage magnesium alloy body
Display: 6.39″ OLED display (2340×1080 pixels) with 19:9 aspect ratio
Battery: 4,000 mAh battery with 15-Watt Fast charging support
SIM (s): Dual nano-SIMs (Hybrid)
Lenovo Z6 Price and availability:
The Lenovo Z6 has been launched in China and is yet to come to other markets. In China, it costs CNY 1,899 ($275/€245) for the 6GB/64GB variant, ($305/€270) for the 6GB/128GB model and CNY2,499 ($365/€320) for the 8GB/128GB version.
Xiaomi, probably, has the widest range of smartphones. And in its sea of products, some of the devices look almost identical to each other, in terms of specs. Take the Redmi Y3 and Redmi 7 for an instance. On top, the Chinese smartphone maker differentiates its products for various markets such as Chinese, Indian, and global variants causing even more confusion amongst the users. And Xiaomi has done it again! The company launched budget-oriented Xiaomi Redmi 7A in India, which simply features minor tweaks on the Chinese variant of Redmi 7A launched back in May.
Overview:
With an “A” attached to its name, the handset is basically an entry-level device. And like most of the entry-level devices out there, the Redmi 7A also comes with a plastic back. Durability has always been a major concern in smartphones with a plastic body. However, Xiaomi claims that its build is sturdy enough to even sustain drops from shoulder heights. The phone is also said to be splash proof. That means the device can resist occasional sweat or drizzles, too, or even accidental spills.
And in this monsoon season, it seems Xiaomi is highly accentuating on its splash-proof nature. Also, to give credibility to its durable build, Xiaomi is offering a notable 2 years of warranty. And owing to its sturdy construction and budget-oriented nature, Xiaomi India is also remarking it to be “smart desh ka smartphone“.
But when it comes to other specs, the handset highly resembles with the Xiaomi Redmi 6A launched last year. It features a 5.45-inch HD+ display in 18:9 aspect ratio. However, there are no notches or cutouts, just the regular old-fashioned bezels top, and bottom. Still, the 5 MP selfie camera follows the AI-trend. And it also features Face Unlock security feature which works via the selfie camera.
Powering the device is Snapdragon 439 chipset coupled with 2 GB of RAM. And the phone comes with either 16 GB or 32 GB of onboard memory. Since it’s a phone of 2019, as you would expect, you get Android Pie on the software front. There is also Xiaomi’s MIUI 9 software skin on top.
All the aforementioned features are identical with the Chinese variant. But what differentiates the Indian and Chinese variants is the rear camera. The Chinese variant had a 13MP sensor on the rear camera while the Indian variant comes with a notable 12MP Sony IMX486 sensor. It’s the same sensor used on last year’s fan-favorite Xiaomi MI A2 and Redmi Note 7 (Indian variant). So, I guess that means slightly better pictures. Talking about the battery, there is a 4000mAh unit, which comes with 10-watt charging support.
Xiaomi Redmi 7A Specifications:
Display: 5.45″ IPS LCD display
Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1440), 18:9 aspect ratio @ 295PPI
The phone is going on sale in India starting from 11th of June. It will first be available for purchase through online channels like Mi.com, Flipkart, etc. And will be available even on the retail stores shortly after.
The price of the device is INR 5,999 for 2/16GB and INR 6,199 for the 3/32GB variant. But if the users buy the device within July, they will get a discount of INR 200. That means the early buyers can get the handset for as low as INR 5,799.
Every year, OnePlus releases a very compelling flagship phone that’s unpolished in a few areas. But that’s made alright by the prices of these phones! And it was this business model that got the small company the attention of the world. But OnePlus decided that it can do more than provide killer specs at a very affordable price. Thus, the OnePlus 7 Pro was created.
With a considerable set of improvements over the OnePlus 6T, the OnePlus 7 Pro brings a lot of new things to the table, at least for OnePlus. But this also means a major change in pricing. So, does this still make the OnePlus 7 Pro a flagship killer?
Color Variant(s): Almond, Nebula Blue, Mirror Gray
Battery: 4000 mAh with 30-Watt Warp Charge
Design
The OnePlus 7 Pro design is fantastic, there’s no doubt on that front. Its glass back and curved edges, combined with the heft give it a prime look and feel. The curved edges make the frame thinner, which is easier to grip, despite its large size. And it’s almost what you’d want from a flagship in 2019…almost. Because while the big hefty design makes it premium, it is also too big for many. In addition, even though it is water-proof (which is good), it’s still not IP-rated. So, the assurance is not quite there.
OnePlus 7 Pro Design
1 of 4
Ports
Speaker Grill
Buttons
Volume rockers
The ever-so-useful Alert slider is at the right above the power button with the volume rockers on the left. And they’re a bit too far up to reach. As I mentioned, the phone is too big for most. Audio is made better by the Dual Stereo speakers – one at the bottom and one on the earpiece, but having no headphone jack is a bummer.
And yes, the pop-up selfie camera does give the phone more screen real-estate. But motorized parts are not everyone’s taste, either. It does have the safety measure to retract the camera back in, in case it drops, but it’s still a motorized part. And while I got used to its pop-up camera easily, it might not be the same for everybody. So, overall – the design of the OnePlus 7 Pro is a mixed bag. Sure, it looks good but takes a lot of getting used to for daily usage.
Display
Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED display sure was the best when it featured on the Galaxy S10. But this time, they’ve got themselves a fierce contender with the OnePlus 7 Pro. A large 6.71″ no-notch, no-nonsense display Fluid AMOLED display with QHD resolution is sure to give the S10 a run for its money. There are quite a few things to love about the display.
First, is the large screen with no notch or cutouts of any kind. It’s all screen! Second is the QHD resolution for the sharpest of picture quality. And third…maybe the most exciting of all, is the 90 Hz refresh rate, making it the fastest phone screen there is. Everything feels super smooth on the screen, from transitions to animations. And if you can’t tell the difference in there, playing fast-paced games makes the screen really come alive. Gaming on the screen is so addictive that you don’t want to put it down.
However, to save the battery, you can tone the display down to 60 Hz and also Full HD+ as well. In addition, if you face eye strains, there’s also DC Dimming option that lets you calibrate the colors to minimize the “flicker effect” seen n high-end smartphones, like the Galaxy S10 itself.
Cameras
The cameras on the OnePlus 7 Pro are not the most exciting features on it, to say the least. Because compared to other flagship cameras, it lacks quite a few things. The triple camera setup comprises of a 48 MP primary camera, a 16 MP Ultra-wide and an 8 MP Telephoto lens. And while this is the standard flagship camera setup of 2019, it doesn’t go all the way to the flagship standard.
OnePlus 7 Pro Normal Camera Samples
1 of 6
Focus
Colors / Details
HDR, Saturation
Indoor normal lighting
Painting Colors
Details
While the primary sensor on it, the Sony IMX586, is the same as the Redmi Note 7 Pro, image processing makes a lot of difference. Image quality is decent, pretty good actually. Pictures come out sharp, detailed and hold textures. Colors are true to life as well. Although the pictures are not as vibrant, it’s not disappointing either. The level of exposure, dynamic range and saturation are all well balanced. Therefore, the end result is good looking photos.
OnePlus 7 Pro Camera Portrait Samples
1 of 4
Portrait images are taken by the telephoto lens, so, you’ll have to adjust the distance to get the right framing, but as for other aspects like background blurring and edge detection, it does a good job.
OnePlus 7 Pro Camera Sample Ultra-wide
1 of 5
Normal
Ultra-wide
Pictures from the Ultra-wide angle are not as good, though. Upon first glance, they do look pleasing enough, but a side-by-side comparison with the main lens reveals that the ultra-wide images are a bit washed out, and the field-of-view is not as wide as on some other phones.
OnePlus 7 Pro 3X Zoom Samples
1 of 6
Normal
3X Zoom
Normal
3X Zoom
Normal
3X Zoom
The telephoto lens claims a 3X Optical Zoom. But technically, it’s actually a 2.2X Optical Zoom. However, it still does its fair share of capturing good images, even when compared to the Galaxy S10.
The 16 MP pop-up selfie camera is also superb. There are details in the selfies, the skin texture and tones come out quite natural and balanced. Also, the dynamic range is decent, too, but the HDR doesn’t seem to help the selfies much. In addition, there’s a beauty mode, too, which is not very useful. Portrait selfies come out satisfyingly good too, even though it’s all software.
OnePlus 7 Selfie Sample
1 of 7
Normal selfie
Beauty Mode Off
Beauty Mode On
Portrait Group Selife
Normal
Portrait selfie OP7
But if you compare the pictures with the Galaxy S10, the S10 wins in most settings. The HDR and vibrancy in the S10 are better, and on Ultra-wide images, the S10 outperforms the OnePlus 7. In terms of portraits, i liked the OnePlus 7 Pro better, but the S10, with its option to adjust background blurs and effects, has an edge. So, overall, the S10 has the better camera. Here are a few comparisons.
OnePlus 7 Pro vs Galaxy S10 Camera
1 of 12
OnePlus 7 Pro
S10
OnePlus 7 Pro
Galaxy S10
OnePlus 7 Pro
Galaxy S10
OnePlus 7 Pro
Galaxy S10
Ultrawide OnePluls 7 Pro
Ultrawide Galaxy S10
Portrait OP7
Portrait S10
In terms of videos, the OnePlus 7 Pro is capable of shooting 4K videos @60 fps. And the video quality is superb, too. Colors are accurate, dynamic range is balanced and the details are present. You might notice a loss of details in the shadows, but the overall video is nice. Optical Stabilization is also pretty good, but not as good as on the Galaxy S10. So, if you talk overall video quality, the S10 wins again.
OnePlus 7 Pro Nightscape sample
1 of 5
Nightscape Sample
Normal
NightScape Mode
Normal
NightScape Mode
And of course, there is the NightScape feature, which is the Night Mode in here. It does its job well enough, brightening the images, reducing the noise and sharpening the images at low settings. But it’s not that impressive…there are better night mode camera phones out there.
For Hi-Res images of these camera samples, click here
Performance
OnePlus devices have always advertised their phones’ speed. And so, the OnePlus 7 Pro is no exception. With the Snapdragon 855 running the show, you can expect it to be swift…and swift it is. Also, what helps the performance further, is the UFS 3.0 storage. It helps load the apps faster than on other phones. Conducting a speed test to load all the apps proved the OnePlus 7 Pro is faster than others. Even in the AnTuTu benchmark scores, this phone won over the Galaxy S10 and the new Oppo Reno 10X Zoom.
However, RAM management is not that good. It reloads heavy apps and games like PUBG, Subway Surfers, etc. in a relatively short amount of time. And Geekbench scores also revealed that it was inferior to the Galaxy S10. That might be because we tested the base model with 6 GB RAM, but I doubt an extra 2 GB makes a lot of difference.
Still, it handles all other forms of multi-tasking quite easily. Because apart from games, it can keep other kinds of apps open in the background.
Software and UI
I don’t think there’s a lot to be said about the software. Because the Oxygen OS is the closest you’ll get to Stock Android! Everything works seamlessly. You get all kinds of features that is available on Stock Android, not to mention the fastest security patches and updates. So, it will also be among the first phones to get the Android Q software when it launches.
Security
The OnePlus 7 Pro, like any other flagship in 2019, features an in-display fingerprint scanner. And while the fingerprint scanner on the OnePlus 6T was not very good, the one on this is a game changer!
It’s still an Optical scanner, not the fancy Ultra-sonic like on the S10 but with the speed, it unlocks your phone, it doesn’t need to be. It might just be the fastest in-display fingerprint scanner on the market right now, with an unlock speed of 0.21 seconds. Because, it is definitely faster than the S10, and slightly better than the Huawei P30 Pro.
You also get the Face Unlock Feature on the pop-up camera, and the unlocking speed is surprisingly fast here, too. The only problem is that without an IR sensor, it won’t be as accurate in low light conditions.
Battery
The OnePlus 7 Pro packs a sizeable 4000 mAh battery…again a flagship standard for 2019. The battery can last a whole day easily on the QHD resolution. But if you choose to turn it down to Full-HD, then, you can get a day and a half of battery life on normal usage.
Another great thing about the battery is its improved charging. With a 30-Watt Warp Charging standard, the OnePlus 7 Pro can charge from 0% to 50% in 20 minutes! How cool is that?
Conclusion
Overall, the OnePlus 7 Pro looks like an outstanding device, doesn’t it? It has made a lot of improvements over its predecessors and added some pretty fascinating features too. Also, it has paid a lot of attention to fine details – DC Dimming, faster fingerprint scanner, faster charging, and water-proofing (albeit no IP rating). In addition, that 90 Hz refresh rate is a game changer in smartphone displays.
But, with that, it feels like OnePlus 7 Pro left out the major things unpolished. For example, the camera. If you take away the Ultra-wide and Telephoto lens, the camera quality is not much of an upgrade over the OnePlus 6T. So, if you’re using a OnePlus 6T right now, I don’t see a very good reason to upgrade to this one.
Don’t get me wrong. OnePlus 7 Pro is still an amazing phone. But, it’s just not as compelling as its previous devices used to be. I have used most OnePlus devices, from the OnePlus 2 upwards. I remember getting my OnePlus 3T and being full of excitement. OnePlus 6 was also a game changer. However, I didn’t feel the same with this.
Furthermore, with its price increasing relatively over the years, I don’t think it still retains the Flagship Killer title anymore. That title may very well go to the likes of Redmi K20 Pro now. That remains to be seen yet…
OnePlus 7 Pro Pros and Cons
Pros:
Premium design and good build quality with waterproof construction
We don’t hear about Lava smartphones quite often. However, they usually refresh their product lineups in roughly three months or so. This time Lava has unveiled the budget-oriented Lava R5v to Nepal, which like other phones in their offering list caters to the price conscious audience.
The Lava R5v, as mentioned earlier is a budget device. It features a 6.22-inches display with HD+ resolution and dragon-trail glass protection. The display features a dew-drop style notch. The notch is home for an 8 MP selfie camera.
At the back, you see dual cameras of 13+2 MP with a bright f/1.8 aperture and a fingerprint sensor. In terms of memory, you get 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
Color-wise, there are two options, a bright Blue color or a Dark Chrome color. The processor of the device has not been specified yet, but what we know is, it’s an Octa-core processor clocked at 2GHz. The phone comes with a decent sized 3,500 mAh battery. Charging is done via a micro-USB and comes with a 10W charger out of the box.
Likewise, the R5v comes bearing the latest Android 9 Pie with their Star OS 5.1 on top. Other features include GPS, Bluetooth 4.2, FM radio, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and a single firing speaker.
Lava R5v Specifications:
Design: Plastic body with plastic frames
Display: 6.2 inches with a water drop notch
OS: Android 9.0 Pie (Star OS)
Rear Camera: Dual 13 MP f/1.8 + 2 MP depth sensor
Front Camera: 8 MP f/2.0
Processor: 2.0 GHz Octa-core processor
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 32GB
Battery: 3,500 mAh non-removable Lithium Polymer battery
Colors: Bright Blue or Dark Chrome
Price: Rs. 14,499
Price and availability:
The Lava R5V is priced at Rs. 14,499. At this price, the phone goes head to head against the Redmi 7, Realme C2, and Samsung Galaxy A10. It is available for purchase at various mobile retail shops all over Nepal.
A successor the Honor 8X, the Honor 9X will be making its debut on July 23. Posters of the launch are already out and about, so, it’s confirmed. However, the phone is still in its leaks and rumors stages. And we have not much information about what the phone will pack, except for some key details.
The Honor 9X will feature Huawei’s latest chipset, the Kirin 810. Given that the chipset came out just a few weeks ago, for mid-range, this doesn’t come as a surprise at all. With this chipset running the show, we can expect the Honor 9X to go head to head against the Samsung Galaxy A80 (because of similar chipsets), but pricing should mean it will actually compete with the A70. Benchmark scores of the Kirin 810 outperformed the Snapdragon 730, but real-world usage can make a difference.
Other than that, a leaked schematic of the Honor 9X reveals a full edge-to-edge design with a pop-up selfie camera. Looks like motorized parts are the trend, and most of the phones are following suit. Probably because pop-up cameras are the easier approach to delivering that full-screen experience.
Also, the Honor 9X leaks show a dual camera set up at the back, but no fingerprint scanner. And that can only mean one thing – an in-display fingerprint scanner! Because it’s unlikely that these phones will move on to only Face Unlock altogether. We can also make out the design footprint of the device from the leaks, but that’s all.
So, will the Honor 9X make a big impact on the smartphone market? Considering the new powerful chipset, I think it will. Do let us know your thoughts…
Xiaomi has, probably, the most number of different series of smartphones. They target almost all ranges of customers. And as if Xiaomi was not enough, it has two sub-brands. But despite all these, Xiaomi has introduced an entirely new series once again. And in this new MI CC9 series, the Chinese smartphone maker has lined up three new devices. The latest Xiaomi MI CC9, CC9e, and CC9 Meitu Edition seem to have been targeted at camera enthusiasts.
Xiaomi MI CC9
When it comes to MI CC9, there is a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display with Full-HD resolution. The handset also features an in-displayfingerprint scanner. The screen also features a tiny water-drop style notch on top of the display. And the whole front is encased with a tough Corning Gorilla 5.
The notch houses a 32MP selfie camera and Xiaomi claims it to be best in its class. The selfie camera, as per the trends, will ship with a dedicated AI portrait mode for low light scenarios. Furthermore, the handset will have new Mimoji animated avatars.
As for the rear cameras, the MI CC9 packs a triple-camera setup. The primary shooter uses a 48MP camera capped with an f/1.8 lens. Also, an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor complete the camera package.
On the design front, the handset flaunts dual-glass design with a metal frame sandwiched in between. The “CC” in its name stands for Colorful and Creative. Justifying the name, Xiaomi MI CC9 comes with an interesting light refracting finish. And this refractive rear panel shifts color according to the angle at which the light is incident.
As far as the performance is concerned, the handset gets the Snapdragon 710 chipset with 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Storage-wise, the handset comes in 64GB and 128GB variants. The phone boots on Android Pie with MIUI 10 on the top. Supplying the power juice to the device is a 4030mAh battery, which comes with 18-watt fast charging support.
Xiaomi MI CC9 Meitu Edition
Xiaomi had acquired Meitu last year. And commemorating the acquisition, Xiaomi released the Meitu Edition. This special edition is identical to the regular MI CC9 version with few tweaks on the camera front.
The device is targeted at the enthusiasts, who are into mobile vlogging. And for such enthusiasts, there are AI low light portrait mode, movie portrait, and full body beauty filters. This device also comes with a special vlog mode with video stabilization to open the possibilities for wannabe vloggers.
The Meitu Edition comes aboard with 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and in a special pearl white color variant. Rest of the specs remains the same between MI CC9 and CC9 Meitu Edition.
Specifications:
Display: 6.39-inch Super AMOLED with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340 × 1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @403PPI pixel density
Battery: 4030mAh battery with 18-watt fast charging
Xiaomi MI CC9e
The “e” on its name stands for Essential Edition. And it’s essentially a toned down version of the Xiaomi MI CC9. CC9e comes with a slightly smaller 6.01-inch Super AMOLED display coupled with HD+ resolution. Although the size and resolution have been toned down, Xiaomi kept the UD fingerprint scanner and Gorilla Glass 5 protection intact. The camera module has not changed either. There is the same 32MP selfie shooter and the triple rear cameras have barely changed.
On the performance side, however, there is a slightly less powerful Snapdragon 665 chipset. Memory wise, the phone comes in 4/64GB, 6/64GB, and 6/128GB variants. Powering the device is a 4030mAh battery, which comes with 18-watt fast charging support.
Specifications:
Display: 6.01-inch Super AMOLED with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1560 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @286PPI pixel density
Chipset: Snapdragon 665; 11nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core 2.0 GHz Kryo 260
GPU: Adreno 610
RAM: 4/6GB
Storage: 64/128GB; expandable memory up to 256GB with micro SD
Battery: 4030mAh battery with 18-watt fast charging
Price & Availability
All these devices have launched in China and they are up for pre-booking as of now. The regular MI CC9 and CC9 Meitu edition will go on sale starting from the 5th of July. The affordable CC9e won’t be available for purchase until 9th of July. However, there is no information regarding the release of the device in the global market.
Price-wise, the MI CC9 is the most affordable of all. The base variant (4/64GB) of the device is priced at CNY 1,299 (NPR 20,800). Similarly, the 6/64GB and 6/128GB variants will cost CNY 1,399 (NPR 22,500) and CNY 1,599 (NPR 25,700) respectively.
The regular MI CC9 demands CNY 1,799 (NPR 22,900) for the 6GB/64GB storage option and CNY 1,999 (NPR 32,100) for the 6GB/128GB storage model. The CC9 Meitu Edition being the most premium of all will set you back CNY 2,599 (NPR 41, 750).
CreditAMD’s latest strategies are giving tough competition to both NVidia and Intel, lately, with their new Navi and Zen 2 architecture. Intel responded (but failed). And now, it looks like Nvidia’s turn to strike back. That they did, in the most non-Nvidia way, by launching three new value for money graphics cards. I personally think these cards should have been the original RTX series, but better late than never right?
AMD’s next-gen GPUs are set to launch soon, July 7 to be precise. And does that have something to do with the new trio of “SUPER” graphics chips from Nvidia? Maybe. Either way, let’s look at the all-new RTX 2060 SUPER, RTX 2070 SUPER, and the RTX 2080 SUPER. Are these cards actually “super”, or are they just another false attempt to steal the spotlight?
NVIDIA RTX 2080 SUPER
The new RTX 2080 SUPER is priced at $699 and is a direct replacement to their current RTX 2080. The notable improvements include increased memory speed, clock speeds tensor cores, RT Cores, and texture units. Even the Cuda Cores has increased alongside the streaming multiprocessors. Check out the graph below for numbers:
FEATURES
RTX 2080
RTX 2080 SUPER
CUDA Cores
2,944
3,072
Base Clock (MHz)
1,515
1,650
Boost Clock (MHz)
1,710
1,815
Tensor Cores
368
384
RT Cores
46
48
Texture Units
184
192
Memory Bandwidth
14 Gbps
15.6 Gbps
Total Bandwidth
448GB/s
496.1 GB/s
Memory Bus Width
256-bit
256-bit
GPU Architecture
Turing TU104
Turing TU104
Render Outputs
64
64
Memory Config
8GB
8GB
TDP
215W
250W
Price
$699
$699
Given the spec bump, the end result or the war performance numbers has gone up from 10 TFLOPs to 11.1 TFLOPs. That’s about an 11% boost in performance, both from the Founder’s edition cards of course. Reflecting on all this, the TDP has gone up from 215W to 250W. Nvidia even claims the new SUPER 2080 is “faster than the Titan XP”. While the numbers might not reflect it, the architecture improvement could deliver similar results.
The RTX 2080 SUPER will go on sale starting July 23.
Nvidia RTX 2070 SUPER
The RTX 2070 SUPER replaces the original RTX 2070, again for the same cost. You can clearly see the changes or more so the bump in specs. The end performance improvement comes in at 24% in some cases and about 16% on average against the normal RTX 2070. Nvidia even went as far as putting it against (actually ahead) of their GTX 1080Ti, now that’s impressive (if it pans out).
FEATURES
RTX 2070
RTX 2070 SUPER
CUDA Cores
2304
2560
Base Clock (MHz)
1410
1605
Boost Clock (MHz)
1620
1770
Tensor Cores
228
320
RT Cores
36
40
Texture Units
144
160
Memory Bandwidth
14Gbps
14Gbps
Total Bandwidth
448GB/s
448GB/s
Memory Bus Width
256-bits
256-bits
GPU Architecture
Turing (TU106)
Turing (TU104)
Render Outputs
64
64
Memory Config
8GB
8GB
TDP
215W
215W
Price
$499
$499
The added 16%-24% performance gain comes in at the exact same TDP. Its performance will also be very comparable to the RTX 2080 and you can clearly see the base and boost clock gains here, so that really doesn’t surprise me much. The RTX 2070 SUPER will be available starting July 9 for $499, which is what the original RTX 2070 currently costs.
Nvidia RTX 2060 Super
So, the RTX 2060 Super is the only card to receive a price bump alongside the regular spec bump. And that’s a bit hard to swallow given its performance bump from 6.5 TFLOPs to 7.2 TFLOPs at FP32. But Nvidia claims a 15% boost in performance, so basically (almost) up on par with the RTX 2070.
FEATURES
RTX 2060
RTX 2060 SUPER
CUDA Cores
1920
2176
Base Clock (MHz)
1365
1470
Boost Clock (MHz)
1680
1650
Tensor Cores
240
272
RT Cores
30
34
Texture Units
120
136
Memory Bandwidth
14Gbps
14Gbps
Total Bandwidth
336GB/s
448GB/s
Memory Bus Width
192-bits
256-bits
GPU Architecture
Turing (TU106)
Turing (TU106)
Render Outputs
48
64
Memory Config
6GB
8GB
TDP
160W
175W
Price
$349
$399
Here the TDP has increased by about 15W to a max of 175W. Given the specs bump and performance are not bad for a $399 GPU.
Conclusion
Basically, the SUPER moniker is similar to that of the “Ti”. But they made sure none of the SUPER cards outperform their higher tier model. The RTX 2070 Super is super-close to the RTX 2080, but not quite there, and it’s the same for all three of the cards. But in short, all cards received a 10-15% increase in performance. With that out the way, let’s tackle the question of what these new GPUs mean.
The older GPUs will be no more and will be replaced completely by the new SUPER family. And there are a few reasons for this. The current RTX series was getting a bit stale, although exciting at launch, they quickly lost their charm. A significant price drop would have helped, but that isn’t exactly a headliner nor as exciting as a new product launch.
Then there are the new Navi GPUs. Nvidia has always had a stellar budget offering, and the RTX 2060 SUPER retains the position again. What about the new 2080Ti SUPER? Maybe they are keeping it locked up until AMD’s launch. Waiting for the competition to show their hand first. If AMD comes up with a card that’s as good or better as the RTX 2080Ti, I guess, we will see a Super version of that, too.
Vivo’s IQOO gaming phone seemed strange already. Even its tagline “Monster Inside” sounded intimidating, and with its software acceleration modes, it was plenty fast, too. A few months later, Vivo has birthed a sibling to that one – the Vivo IQOO Neo. This one is more affordable than the other one.
Vivo IQOO Overview
This is also a gaming smartphone, just more affordable, so, it’s slightly toned-down than the IQOO. It packs a Snapdragon 845 chipset, which is last years’, but that’s still a powerful chipset. Kinda like the Pocophone F1, but with added software mods to make it a gaming phone. And to do that, it has a 6 GB / 8 GB RAM inside with 64 GB / 128 GB storage, too.
Of course, that’s not enough to make it a gaming specialty. It features a dedicated cooling system inside – two multilayer graphite slates with a vapor chamber and an aluminum piece in between. With this kind of cooling, the company claims it will stay at 3-degree Celsius lower temperatures than the current SD 845 smartphones.
In addition, following the current gaming trend in China, the Vivo IQOO Neo has plenty of gaming features. It comes with AI Turbo, Center Turbo, Net Turbo, Cooling Turbo, and other features under the Multi-Turbo heading. Furthermore, the display even packs something called the Touch Acceleration for digitizer, so that there will be zero lags while using in-game controls/joysticks.
As for the other aspects, it has a 6.38″ OLED panel with Full HD+ resolution, and it comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner. It sports a triple camera setup, comprising of 12 MP primary lens, 8 MP wide-angle lens, and a 2 MP depth sensor. Also, the selfie camera is a 12 MP sensor as well. In addition to that, the phone has a large 4500 mAh battery with 22.5-Watt Fast Charging. Software-wise, it runs on FunTouch OS 9 based on Android Pie.
Vivo IQOO Specifications:
Display: 6.38-inch Super AMOLED
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340 × 1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @404PPI pixel density
Battery: 4500mAh battery with 22.5-watt fast charging
Price and Availability
Right now, the phone is only launched in China. Pricing starts from CNY 1798 (~$260) for the 6/64 GB variant and goes up to CNY 2298(~335) for the 8 GB variant. It is available in two colors: Black and Purple.
With such a strange name, do you think a phone such as this can go against the likes of Xiaomi Black Shark 2, or the Razer Phone 2? However, even if this is only available in China, you might be able to order it online via Vivo’s own online store and major Chinese retailers.
Vivo, currently, has two very popular smartphone lineups, their Y-series, which comprise of budget phones, and their V-series, which are premium mid-rangers. Of course, they have the X-series and the Nex too, but they’re not for all market segments. It’s only their Y-series and V-series that are globally available. And due to this, Vivo doesn’t really play in the mid-range segment. However, that’s about to change with Vivo S-series.
Vivo’s coming out with an S-series smartphone lineup. Well, they do have an S-series, but that’s only limited to China. And even so, that’s their rebrands of the Vivo V15 and V15 Pro as the S1 and S1 Pro. So, it’s clear that the company will come up with new phones in this lineup for international markets. But the phones are still under wraps, and even the names are not disclosed yet.
Only very few details have surfaced regarding the S-series. For the first iteration of the devices, there are rumors that the first Vivo S phone will be arriving in two models. One of these models will have 6 GB RAM while the other will have 8 GB RAM. Both of them will feature a 128 GB storage, though. These models will be mainly focusing on the design and style aspects besides just specifications, and will also feature triple camera setups.
This strategy comes from Vivo to compete with mid-range phones from brands like Xiaomi’s Note-series, Realme, and Samsung’s Galaxy A-series. Also, the price of the S-series will be between INR. 20000 – 25000 in India. These will be offline-exclusive in the country.
For their online-exclusive market, Vivo’s also launching their Z-series in India. But the Z-series is not a new lineup. We already have the Z1 Pro which is available in India. Also, there are phones like Vivo Z5x in the Z-series. But since it’s an online exclusive brand, it might not make its way to Nepal.
However, the S-series will also make its way to Nepal very soon, after the Indian launch. And judging by the Indian prices, their prices will probably be along Rs.30000 – 40000, which is the typical mid-range price in Nepal. So, I guess, we’ll have more options in the mid-range smartphone segment in Nepal in the near future. Is that a good thing or bad? Do let us know.
